Knife adjusting means for power shears



Aug. 5,1952 ss c 2,605,835

KNIFE ADJUSTING MEANS FOR POWER SHEARS Filed Sept. 29, 1948 2 SHEETS-SHEET QWW Kim/an 'yMessic/c I ATTORNEYS 7 lower knife blades ef=-such ashear.

F'atented Aug. 5, 1952 I run-mu ."KNIFE ADJUSTING MmNm-mmwm I SHEAR'S: Y

The object efthe presentinvention is to-pro- *v'ide improved means for "adjiisti-ngthe upper knife-"blade of a power shear for the purpose of providing proper clearance be'tweenthe upper and adjustment of the clearance of these bla'de s is a matter'o'f great importance. Ii -the adjustment is-to'o "Close; espeeially where' th'e stock being workejd upon is relatively heavy; serious damage to "the knives and to-expensive machinesmay-'re- -s ilt. EIf', upon -the ather hand, the cl'e'arance'is The proper 'molaims. (013164- 547) too great,- espec'ial'ly where frl atively-thin sto'ek the clea-ra'nce ibetween the knives. Howev'er the adjusting means usually provided require so much -work and so much-time for' the"adjust-- ment, that impatient workmen have falle'n into the habit of setting the iblades at "an intermediate point and letting them stay there' irrespe'ctive 0f thew thi'ck-ness of the material beingmutv Y This has resulted, as before stated, e'ither in damagetcthe knives or-iin the stock being-parmany mashed insteadef being' eleanl'y cfut.

"Theimeans by which lovercome the foregeing diificulties will -be 'b'est Jund'erstood :by reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a partial plan of a power shear pro vided with the .idevi'c'es 30f my invention;

JFig. L2Iis a'perspective view of a portion of cine end ot the machine :;with the operatingzmecha- 'nisr'ntfor' the"upper-knifeip1a3te, omitted;-

'Eig. i3 is Ia :tr'ansversefvertic'aisectionm view Fig. :14 is a transverse vertiea1seetional view 7 upon: line 54-4 of Fig. 2, "through/orient the lend plates 5 "which are tied'together' fby' a li-ke heavy seaplane that" the-rear of the machinefandby other conventional uniting structure, not shown.

A heavy steebworktame 1 comprising-the heft-- rental pe'rtionl 1a-and thewertiea1 "pertion 'Pb-i'ias its *opposite ends '--re'sting upon 'iorward exten sinns 8-of the end plates 'I'he end plaites are cutout as indicated-at 9 so that -reiative1y Wide stock may lee-placed u'pon -the work tame -and split len'g thwise by -being passe'd into a *pesiticn between the lower "knife lcilaiie 1 0 aniithe -Hpper knife b'la'de H. Extensionsi i upon the wvork table extend outwardiy an'd' re'st upontheedges i3 of' the end--p1at'es* '5.v Adjusting b'e1ts l l bear between the extensions I I2 and the upstanc'iii-1g port'iens B of theend-plate and actf-whentumed in ene 'd-ireetionto thrust th'e woi k table inward f 1y-. *Ei-ke adjusting be-lts RS-act between the -n pstanding' portiens 8 -'and-a-depenfling apron {F6 upon the-Wvofkfisetble to adjust fthe table in" he opposite directien. mhis movement ef 'the ftzib'ie moves the 'lower knife blade inwardlyer out'wariily as th'e ease may bwsaid l'ower knife kflaiie being seated in -a recess 0a or theizalileeaxiel he'hi'g: backed up and stiffened by "thee/ ide -vertica-1 extensio'n' 1b o'fthe work tahle; A depending apren iT-u'pon the wei k tabieiis eng-aged h riding ever =the necessity 'cf loosening-a 'number f belts such as those iridicated=at l 8 and' thenad justinjg the table a and therea'iter ti'ghterii-ng saiildbfiIts makes this operation-somewhat time consuming and troublesom'e. The present *inventi'en'; as stated, reside's especijaily Yin th'e means -whieh' I have-iemployed for securing a quiek'afijustm'ent of the upper kni fe blade H "and many eamen tional reatures have beenemitted:since theapres- .ent invention: relates only t'o" =the aaiustmerit mi said upper khiieiblade. As will b'e seeri' hy'reter ence t'o i-Fig; z?this hnife biadeis seated ih a ciit out perti'on'zzn of a vertical memes-wry krfife fllate 2 L" A-n'y xccnventidnai i means may he emp1eyeii fcr vertica11y reciprbcaiting this plate. Erie "61.11311 11189218 'is'fllHS'traiteid? i n'iFigi',

it. being understood hat these-zmeains -ar Humi I may retain this structure fer the purpo'se of getting a coarseac 1justment How ciprocation of a rod 26. The rod 26 may be the piston rod of a hydraulic cylinder 21 or it may be any kind of a link connection between arm 24 and suitable mechanical actuating means.

The knife plate 2i and the knife blade H carried by said plate are mounted for vertical reciprocation in a carrier head. Vertical ways of said head receive the knife plate, said ways being constituted at the front side of the plate 2| by gibs 28 and at the rear side of the plate 2| by the flat front faces 29 of the carrier head in which the knife plate is mounted. This carrier head comprises a front plate 30 and rearwardly extending forked members 3| and 32 said front plate and forked members moving together as a unit. The forked members comprise the spaced plates 33, 33a, 34, 34a. These last named plates, which make up the forked members, are pivoted at their lower ends to the end plates upon pivots 35 and the adjustment of the upper knife blade is effected by tilting the upper portion of the carrier head fore and aft uponthese .pivots 35 and across the plane of movementrof knife plate, 2|. The mechanism bywhich this fore and aft adjustment is secured is best illustrated in Figs. 3, 4 and 5. Here it will be seen that those portions of the heavy end plates 5 which lie between the plates 33, 33a.and 34,

34a are cut out to provide openings of rectangular formation indicated at 3'! .and whichopenings extend all the way through the ends 5. Rectangular blocks 38 are seated in said openings and are capable of vertical movement therein but are incapable of lateral movement therein. These blocks have circular openings 39 formed therethrough which receive the large circular portions 40 of the operatingcams hereinafter described and shown in Fig. 5. Projecting from the opposite ends of the portions 40 are smaller portions 4| which are offset or geccentrically disposed with respect to the portions 40 and these smaller portions 4| pass through and engage and turn "in openings -4 lformed; in the plates 33, 33a or 34, 3411. It is-apparent that its. turning movement beimparted to the cam block 38 cannot move back and forth it follows that the smaller portions 4| will themselves move fore and aftand that the whole upper portion of the carrier head will follow such movement and swing backwardly or forwardly, as the case may be about the centers provided by the pivots 35.

Any suitable operating handle may be provided for; imparting the desired turning movement to the cam of Fig. 5. One simple structure is illustrated in said figure and consists of a rod 44 which passes through one of the small end portions of the cam. The end of this rod is bent tosubstantially -L-shaped as indicated at 45 and afterthe rod has been ,utilized as a crank to im part. the desired turning movement to-the cam this L-jshaped end may be swungaround' to cause its point 46to engage inanyyone of, the openings -4'! formed in the adjacent plate 33*or 3411 as the case may be. This will lock the cam in the position to which it has been adjusted and the degree of such adjustment may be ascertained by noting the position ofthe pointed end 48 of rod 44 with respect to a scale 49 formed upon the plate 33 or 34a as the case may be.

'4 Thus it will be seen that the cams and their associated parts (which will normally have to be moved very little) not only serve to lock the carrier head in the position to which it is moved by the cams but that these cams are the actual actuating means of the carrier head and that through them a very fine adjustment of the movable knives, may be had. Adjustment of the gibs- 28 may be effected by adjusting bolts 50 in the usual way. t will be observed that since the carrier head moves about a pivot point 35 that is relatively close to the knife blade that is being adjusted, and that since the adjusting cam is at a point far removed therefrom and almost in a line with said pivot, the reverse. pressure upon the knife in cutting can have little effect tending to move the cam, after it has once been adjusted. It will further be observed that by locating the adjusting means at the point shown, they are brought to the upper forward corners of the press where they can be easily reached by a workman. Thus adjustment may be effected almost instantly and with such a little loss of time and with suchlittle effort that there will be no temptation upon the part of the workman to neglect the adjustment to thatpoint where the most effective work will be done. In presses of the character to which this invention relates the knife carrying plate is usually made quite large and heavy so that upon the working stroke the force of gravity will aid in effecting the cut.

The manner in which I mount the knife adjusting mechanism lends itself to the easy adjustment of this large and heavy member, effects avery fine adjustment by multiplying the movement at the pivot pointv35, at the adjusting member 44 and yet preventsthe kick back of the knife from acting too forcibly upon the adjusting cam.

Many ways will readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art for modifying the structure herein shown while retaining the principles embodied herein. Therefore it is to-be understood that the ,invention is not limited to the precise arrangement shown, but that it includes within its purview whateverchanges fairly come within the scope of-the appended claims.

Having described my invention what I claim 1. In a machine for shearing metal sheets and the like,-a pair of endframe means and abed extending therebetween and fixed rigidly thereto, said bed including a work tablehavinga stationary lower shear knife fixed to the rear edge there of, each of said endframe .means comprising a wall portion extending above and rearwardly of said work table, said wall portions being spaced in the direction of shearing, a reciprocable crosshead including an upper shear knife, slideway: means for guiding the opposite end portions, of said crosshead in a generally vertical path of movement to effect shearing strokes, means pivotally connecting said slideway means to the forward ends of said wall portions above said stationary shear knife, and means on said end frame means for selectively adjusting the slidewaymeans upon its pivoting means and transverselyofthe plane of the knives, for adjusting the clearance between the knives.

2. In a-machine for shearing metal sheets, a pair of end frame members and a bed extending therebetween and fixed rigidly thereto, said bed including a work table, a stationary lower shear knife extending along the rearedge of the work table, a reciprocablecross head including an upper stantially vertical reciprocation, means for pivoting the carrier head upon said end frame members, said pivoting means mounting the carrier head to permit its upper portion to tilt transversely of the Work table and knives, and adjusting means acting between said end frame members and the carrier head for imparting such transverse tilting movement to the carrier head and the cross head mounted therein, the pivoting means of the carrier head being located adjacent the lower end of said head and below the adjusting means but above the level of the lower shear knife.

3. In a machine for shearing metal sheets or the like the combination with a frame comprising a pair of end frame members and a work table extending between and aiiixed to said end frame members, a fixed lower shear knife extending along therear edge of the work table, a carrier head extending throughout. the length of the frame and provided at its ends with vertical slideways, a crosshead mounted for substantially vertical reciprocation in said slideways, an'upper shear knife secured along the lower edgeof the crosshead for coaction with the fixed shear knife, pivoting means located above the level of the lower shear knife by which the lower, rear corners of the carrier head are pivotally mounted upon the end frame members, said pivoting means being such as to permit the upper portion of the carrier head to swing transversely of the plane of movement of the crosshead, and graduated adjusting and holding means acting between the end frame members and the carrier head, to impart such transverse movement to the carrier head.

4. A structure as recited in claim 3 wherein the adjusting means comprise rotative members mounted to turn in the end frame members and eccentrically disposed portions carried by the rotative members which engage the carrier head to efiect an adjustment thereof.

5. A structure as recited in claim 3 wherein 6. the carrier head comprises a front plate and a pair of inwardly directed plates at each end of said front plate between which end plates of the pairs the end frame members are. received, the pivoting means of the crosshead passing through said end frame members and said inwardly directed plates at the lower ends of the latter plates.

6. A structure as recited in claim 3 wherein the adjusting means for the carrier head comprise blocks mounted for limited vertical sliding movement in the end plates, cams having a part of one diameter mounted to turn in said blocks and eccentrically disposed projections which engage the upper portion of the carrier head to transversely adjust the latter upon its pivoting means.

7. A structure as recited in claim 3 wherein the adjusting means for the carrier head comprise blocks mounted for limited vertical sliding movement in the end plates, cams having a part of one diameter mounted to turn in said blocks and eccentrically disposed projections which engage the upper portion of the carrier head to transversely adjust the latter upon its pivoting means, graduated, manually operable means for turning said cams and locking means between said operating means and the carrier head for holding the cams and carrier head in their adjusted positions.

KIRWAN Y. MESSICK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Jensen Jan. 18, 1944 

